


The Tutoring Sessions (Or How Merlin Gained Way More Than He Bargained For)

by Chechilia



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 10:29:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11146581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chechilia/pseuds/Chechilia
Summary: The day they find out the results of their finals, featuring a nervous Merlin, a patient Gwen, and a helpful Arthur.Or, Merlin is afraid of having failed his class despite Arthur's tutoring lessons and Gwen tries to coax him into actually seeing the results.





	The Tutoring Sessions (Or How Merlin Gained Way More Than He Bargained For)

**Author's Note:**

> Finally received the results of my finals, thought I'd write a little something to celebrate. Enjoy !

When Merlin finally reaches the entrance of the great hall, it's with clammy hands and a big lump in his throat that has him swallow with difficulty. His breathing is shallow, puffing out in short pants, and his heart is racing. It isn't from having ran to arrive on time, he knows, or at least not only. His stomach has been in knots for days, to the point that he barely slept in almost a week and didn't manage to eat more than an apple or a chunk of bread per day.

Pushing the glass doors a bit more forcefully than he normally would have, Merlin takes a deep breath to try to calm himself and enters. A significant number of students are already gathered inside, pushing against each other with a single-minded determination, the only goal being the wooden panels displaying the results of the exams at the other end of the hall.

A few of them are crying hysterically, either from joy at having succeeded or from disappointment at having failed. Some are frantically hugging - for the same reasons - while others are watching them with bemused expressions, not understanding what all the fuss is about (and those don't, as they most certainly knew beforehand that they'd succeeded and often majored their classes).

Wiping his hands on his jeans, Merlin scans the crowd carefully in the hope of finding his best friend, Gwen. It doesn't take him long to spot her, walking toward the particular board that has the results of their class pinned on it. Her thick dark curls aren't easy to miss, after all, and she seems to draw attention to her as she waves her way through the crowd, her brown skin enhanced by a yellow dress, a sunny smile on her features.

She notices him as he practically runs to her, his frayed backpack bouncing on his shoulder, as if he is still a schoolboy and not about to graduate from his third year in university. Gwen's smile stretches even wider :

" Merlin ! " she exclaims, hugging him tight. " I was afraid you wouldn't make it. "

Merlin smiles sheepishly as he returns the hug :

" Well, I nearly didn't, with the bus coming early and all. "

Gwen raises a disbelieving eyebrow at him and he grins, relenting :

" Okay, I may have been a bit late. Wasn't my fault. Too nervous to get out of bed. "

Gwen snorts, shaking her head :

" Of course you were. Come on, let's see if we passed. "

The words make a cold shiver run down Merlin's spine as Gwen grabs him by the arm and starts dragging him toward the boards. He stops abruptly, spinning his friend around :

" Gwen " he breathes, " I'm not sure I can do this. "

The other student sighs, knowing very well what Merlin is about to say :

" Do what ? " she asks patiently. " See just how well you managed ? "

Merlin frowns at the hint of irony in her tone, on the verge of an emotional breakdown :

" But what if I failed ? I've been dreaming to enter this program since high school, and you know they won't accept me if I didn't get good grades in _all_ the classes ! " he says in a panicked voice.

It's true that the program he is hoping to enter is awfully selective : not only does it require high marks in all the main subjects of his class - physics, mathematics, chemistry - it also specifies a need for a " global understanding of the world ", meaning a necessity to take a course whose subject isn't linked in any way to hard sciences : literature, history, foreign language, arts.

The thing is, Merlin is good at sciences. Ever since his childhood, he's been labeled as the smart kid, always carrying a book with him, playing with numbers as others played football and enjoying it way more than was commonly accepted. Maths has no secrets for him, nor does chemistry or physics - he always had a knack to understand the concepts, and needs for it only a few hours of class where others struggle up until the end of the year.

However, other subjects like the ones proposed in option go over his head. Merlin is pants at drawing - or at anything requiring a bit of creativity - and always loathed history (the dates are blurry in his mind and the events bore him to no end). He considered taking the foreign language course, as he is pretty good at talking - who is he kidding, he talks all the time - and already has a few basics on his belt. Except that the teacher of that particular course is Morgause LeFay, and there is no way in hell he'd ever choose her : she is way too scary for his liking.

Rumors say that she eats students for breakfast. On toasts. With jam - the rumors are precise enough to specify that it is raspberry jam, and the fact did nothing to sway Merlin's mind (he hates raspberry jam with a rare passion).

As such, the only choice left was literature. At first, Merlin was fine with it : he always loved reading as a child, and even if his love for books of all kind dimmed when he actually made friends in high shool, he rekindled with them once he entered university, sharing his passion with Gwen.

Merlin quickly realized, though, that loving books didn't mean being able to write long and precise essays about the structures of the texts, their meaning, their impact on people. He thought he was doing alright, but quickly deflated as the grades he was getting were way below the ones he needed to enter the program.

That's how Merlin found himself in need of a tutor to improve his marks. As his mother had barely managed to gather enough money to pay for tuition, he knew he wouldn't be able to afford additional classes, and even less so a personal tutor. Refusing to give up, he sought out his favorite teacher, Gaius, from whom he learned that there was an actual tutoring program within the school itself, the tutors being older or more experienced students that worked for free.

Merlin was assigned to a student two years older than himself, a - conveniently - literature major that loved football and poetry and was unfairly gorgeous. That particular fact had Merlin flushing every time his tutor came over, but it helped with the study : he at least had an excuse to focus on what the student was saying.

Arthur Pendragon revealed himself to be a surprisingly good tutor. Surprisingly, because he admitted to Merlin the first time they met that he was only tutoring because of a bet lost to his sister. Merlin learned, however, that a lost bet between the siblings was a serious business, and that Arthur was a generally perfect person if one overlooked the fact that he was a bit of a prat.

Arthur not only agreed to teach him the fine ways of essay writing but never tried to get out of the tutoring sessions, nor to do a half-assed job of it. Even more, he put up with Merlin's insanely chaotic hours, as Merlin had classes all day and worked up to late in the evening in a bar. Yet Arthur never complained, and his work quickly paid off : Merlin became more skilled and more confident in his ideas, which in turn pushed his grades to a higher level.

" You won't fail, Merlin " Gwen interjects firmly, shrugging her friend out of his reverie. " You worked hard for this, I'm sure it'll pay off. "

" I know I won't completely fail, Gwen, but the program..."

" Merlin ! " Gwen chides, starting to lose patience as Merlin tries to drag her away. " You know how scarce his compliments are, yet even Arthur said that you were doing fine ! "

" Of course he did ! " Merlin exclaims. " He isn't stupid nor cruel, he wouldn't have told me he was sure I was going to fail right before the finals. "

" He wouldn't lie to make you feel better " Gwen sighs. " That's just not like him. "

She looks at him for a second, trying to find a way to appease him :

" Come on, he was confident you'd succeed, wasn't he ? He even came to encourage you before the finals ! "

That is a surprise Merlin still hasn't recovered from. Arthur came to see him just before the exams, a cup of tea in one hand and a box of dark chocolates - Merlin's favorites - in the other, talking about anything but literature to distract Merlin from his jittery nerves, and wishing him good luck with a smile that had warmed Merlin's insides.

Arthur was there after the final too, waiting for him outside of class, sitting cross-legged in front of the door. He went over Merlin's work with him, knowing that Merlin wouldn't be able to rest otherwise, nodding in all the right places and appearing quite confident in Merlin's success.

" I know, Gwen, but what if..."

" Merlin " Gwen interrupts him gently, " stop it. You know as well as I do that Arthur was being serious. This is anxiety talking. Come on, let's get it over with. "

She starts to drag him through the crowd again, and Merlin doesn't even try to put up any resistance as Gwen is a force of nature and walks with no regards as to which students she has to push away on her determined path.

In barely a few seconds they reach the front of the crowd and find themselves facing the lists. Gulping noisily, Merlin looks at the names, breathing shallow, heart beating to fast, sweating nervously, until his eyes fall on one single line...

_Emrys, Merlin._

" Gwen ! "

His exclamation is loud, filled with joy and excitement and relief, the three emotions flowing his heart all at once.

" Gwen, I got in ! "

His friend squeals and jumps into his arm, hugging him with all her might, suffocating him :

" You got in ! Gods, Merlin, I'm so happy for you ! "

She lets him go with a big smile and he giggles, unable to stop himself.

" I got in. I got in. Gods. "

His dream was coming true. He couldn't be happier, he knows, except he doesn't know at all because suddenly there's a soft voice in his ear and he jumps :

" Congratulations. "

In that single word Merlin can hear the pride, the happiness, the warm smile quirking the lips :

" Arthur ! " he exclaims, grinning madly.

He turns toward his tutor turned friend, heart pounding. Arthur appears relaxed, as he received is own results two days before. Dressed in worn jeans and a soft red shirt, a carefree smile on his face, he is the most beautiful thing Merlin has ever seen. Sudden warmth overcome him, and he's a bit delirious, so instead of remaining steadily on his feet he jumps into Arthur's arms, hugging him tight.

Arthur is nearly thrown off balance by the gesture, taken off guard, and doesn't seem to now what to do with an armful of Merlin. After a second, he tentatively squeezes back, and a soft smile curl on his lips.

" I did it " Merlin whispers into his neck, making him shiver. " I got in, Arthur, I got in ! "

Merlin says it again and again, as if he doesn't quite believe it yet, as if voicing the thought would make it more real.

Arthur chuckles a bit at Merlin's excitation :

" Yeah, you got in. "

" Thank you " Merlin replies fervently, throwing all the gratefulness he feels into the words.

Arthur shakes his head as Merlin untangles himself, looking fond :

" You're welcome. "

He ruffles Merlin's hair affectionately, making Merlin blush :

" I knew you'd manage. "

" Oh, there's Lance ! " Gwen suddenly exclaims. " I leave you to it guys. "

And with that she leaves as they wave her goodbye, winking at Merlin over her shoulder. The black-haired student turns toward Arthur again, his blush nowhere near fading :

" Erm, I was wondering..."

Arthur raises an eyebrow at him, smirking at his tone :

" Maybe I could pay you a beer as a thank you ? The bar I work in isn't too far, and..."

There's a glint in Arthur's eyes as he smiles :

" Well, well, Merlin Emrys, are you asking your tutor on a date ? "

Merlin's eyes widen and he splutters :

" It wasn't...I wasn't..."

" Merlin " Arthur says, and it sounds like a sigh.

Leaning in, he presses a soft kiss on Merlin's cheek, and Merlin's flushing to the roots of his hair. Arthur chuckles at Merlin's deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression :

" Come on, Merlin, you didn't actually think that I would move my arse out of bed at five in the morning for a tutoring session for just anyone, did you ? "

Merlin snorts, momentarily distracted :

" I knew there was a reason you were so horrible during those sessions. "

Arthur shrugs, unconcerned :

" So, Merlin Emrys " he says, getting right back on track. " Would you like to go on a date with me ? "

It's not as if he doubts the answer, but Arthur can't help feeling relieved when Merlin's smile turns impossibly brighter :

" I'd love to " he replies shyly.

And as they exit the building hand in hand, Merlin knows : his day can't get any better.


End file.
